Naruto: Chronicles of the Lost Library

The door ahead was already open.

A soft red light glowed from within, flickering like a quiet fire.

Naruto stepped inside carefully.

The chamber was huge. Round, silent, and completely empty.

Except for one thing.

In the center stood a statue — twice the height of a man. Made of jagged red stone, its armor looked sharp and old. It held a massive sword, point-down into the floor. Its helmet had no eyes. No mouth. No face at all.

Only a red seal glowed across its chest. The mark crackled like it was alive.

Naruto narrowed his eyes.

"Another puzzle?"

He stepped forward once.

The statue moved.

It yanked the blade free with a heavy crash. Sparks flew as the metal scraped stone. The red seal flared bright, and the door behind Naruto slammed shut with a deafening bang.

"Oh, come on!"

The statue charged.

Naruto jumped back just in time — the sword hit the ground where he'd just stood, cracking the floor wide open.

It was fast.

He formed a shadow clone without thinking. The clone rushed in, kunai raised—

But the guardian's sword cut it cleanly in half with one smooth swing.

No hesitation.

The statue kept going. The blade spun upward, aiming to slice him head-on.

Naruto ducked and rolled, barely missing the edge.

He shouted, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Three more clones appeared, distracting the guardian long enough for Naruto to study it.

It doesn't think. It just reacts.

Same rhythm—thrust, slash, spin.

He threw a smoke bomb. Thick fog filled the room.

But the statue's blade tore through it like nothing was there.

No reaction. No slowdown.

So it wasn't using sight. It could sense chakra.

The seal on its chest flared again.

Naruto's limbs suddenly felt heavy. Slow. Like his chakra didn't want to move. "it's blocking my chakra?"

He dropped to one knee, struggling to breathe.

But he gritted his teeth and pushed through.

No way I'm losing to some statue.

He forced a Rasengan to form in his palm. It was shaky — barely stable — but it worked.

He ran forward. His last clone charged first, drawing the statue's attention.

Then, at the perfect moment, Naruto swapped places with it.

He appeared right in front of the statue's chest.

"RASENGAN!"

He slammed the spinning chakra ball straight into the glowing seal.

The red light cracked.

Then shattered.

The statue froze mid-swing.

And crashed backward like a falling mountain.

Naruto dropped to the floor, breathing hard. His hands were shaking. Dust filled the air. The room finally went quiet.

Then, the floor beneath him rumbled.

Another door opened ahead.

This one had no light.

Just cold air. And a whisper.

"What now.."

He stood slowly, eyes fixed on the black doorway.

Whatever this place throws at me… I'll face it.